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Authors Posts by Rita J. Egan

Rita J. Egan

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Visitors to Avalon Nature Preserve will find a new boardwalk along the mill pond. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Enjoying the great outdoors has become even easier at Avalon Nature Preserve.

Visitors to the preserve in Head of the Harbor, adjoining Stony Brook, will soon see the completion of a much-anticipated boardwalk. While nature lovers in the last few weeks have been able to enjoy the new boardwalk at the preserve, the Monday after Thanksgiving will see work begin for the installation of additional railings. The work will close part of the boardwalk near the grist mill Monday through Thursday, but it will be open to visitors Friday through Sunday. Katharine Griffiths, director of Avalon Nature Preserve, said the boardwalk should be completed by the beginning of the new year.

The boardwalk and other projects are part of the park’s strategic master plan. Work on the boardwalk began in March, but once the pandemic hit, construction halted for 10 weeks, according to Griffiths. Once work was able to begin again, production was delayed sporadically due to wait times on materials, as many supply chains were slowed due to the pandemic. Originally, the hope was for the boardwalk to be completed in May.

Griffiths said the preserve has also installed new benches along the boardwalk, and the upper frog pond is being repaired due to a hole in the liner. Trail systems have been redone and many paths have been resurfaced during the last few months, and due to the renovations, the park’s labyrinth will now only have one access point. Restorative plantings have been placed around the labyrinth as well as other areas in the park, and Griffiths said they will be more plantings in the spring. Currently, the frog pond and labyrinth are closed due to
the renovations.

With many seeking outdoor activities during the pandemic, Griffiths said she has seen an increase in visitors.

“When the world feels a little crazy, people want to come here to feel better,” she said.

Head of the Harbor resident Harlan Fischer said he visits the park often with his dogs. While he hasn’t seen all of the improvements yet, he’s thrilled with what he has seen so far. He described the preserve as an asset to the area.

“It’s a really neat place, the nature preserve,” he said. “Kathy Griffiths sees everything gets done and is really good at this.”

The park abuts the T. Bayles Minuse Mill Pond Park, which also will be undergoing a makeover of sorts. Maintained by The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, the duck pond park is in need of restoration after damage sustained during Tropical Storm Isaias in August when more than a dozen trees fell as the storm ripped through the park. There was also major damage to the park’s braille-engraved handrails, the borders maintaining the gardens and the walkways along the pond.

The entrance to Avalon Nature Preserve is located at the corner of Harbor Road and Route 25A in Stony Brook. Additional parking is available on Shep Jones Lane in Head of the Harbor.

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Sheriffs’ offices around the state have said they are not enforcing or it’s difficult to enforce a state executive order limiting gatherings to 10 people or less. File photo

Last week, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department posted to its Facebook page that it would not be participating in the enforcement of limitations of Thanksgiving gatherings.

The responsibility to enforce the executive order that took effect Nov. 13 in New York state, limiting private gatherings to 10 people or less to help curb the increase of coronavirus infections, will fall on the Suffolk County and East End police departments this holiday. While many commented on the Facebook post that they were thankful to hear of the sheriff’s decision, others felt the department has an obligation to enforce the state’s rules.

Despite nonenforcement on the sheriff’s department’s part, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) said in an email that it has been the department’s policy to encourage responsible behavior since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We do that here at the correctional facility in Suffolk County by enforcing mask wearing and social distancing, and advise staff to stay home if they are ill or have come in contact with someone with COVID-19,” he said. “I strongly urge our residents here to do the same. Do not put yourselves or your families at risk.”

Toulon added that law enforcement and military members, as well as other professionals, “sacrifice time with their families during holidays and our residents need to make responsible decisions.”

Several sheriffs’ offices and elected officials across the state have announced they are not enforcing the executive order or have said it’s difficult to enforce. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) addressed the problem of enforcing the 10-person rule at his Nov. 23 media briefing, saying he didn’t understand how they were choosing not to enforce the law.

“I believe that law enforcement officer violates his or her constitutional duty,” Cuomo said, adding the officers don’t have the right to choose what laws they enforce. As an example, he presented the scenario of what would happen if officers decided they didn’t think cocaine should be illegal.

Cuomo added even though many residents believe they can’t be told what to do in their own houses, laws apply both outside and inside of homes such as domestic and drug laws.

“I’m telling you that you are responsible for your actions and here are the numbers, and the numbers don’t lie and this is the increase before any other increase from Thanksgiving, and if you increase social activity then you’re going to see the number go further up,” the governor said.

According to a statement from the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, sheriffs from across the state have responded to thousands of violation complaints since the first COVID-19 orders were issued and have been doing what they can to address the complaints.

“The criminal laws have very limited applicability with respect to those complaints, and in most cases use of the criminal laws would be unwise,” the statement read.

The statement went on to say that most residents have been following the health directives regarding the coronavirus, and the executive order which limits nonessential private residential gatherings to 10 people or less “has caused great consternation among many of our citizens, who envision armed officers arriving at their doors to count the number of people around the Thanksgiving table.” The association said it would also be difficult to determine how many people in a household are guests, and whether or not a gathering is essential or nonessential without violating a citizen’s right to privacy.

“Many sheriffs and other law enforcement leaders have felt compelled to allay those concerns by assuring citizens that officers will not be randomly coming to their homes on Thanksgiving Day to count the number of people inside,” the statement read. “That would be neither practical nor constitutional.”

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Suffolk County Legislator William "Doc" Spencer. File photo

A Suffolk County legislator has asked for the removal of one of his colleagues from the three committees he serves on in the Legislature.

Legislator Rob Trotta

Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) requested that Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) be removed from the Public Safety, Health and Ways & Means committees, during the Nov. 12 Public Safety committee meeting, according to a press release from Trotta’s office.

The request comes after the Oct. 20 arrest of Spencer, 53. According to police, the legislator was in a county-issued vehicle when officers arrested him. Police said he allegedly planned to meet a prostitute in the parking lot of a Goodwill store in Elwood to trade sex for the pills, which were reportedly oxycodone, a legal form of an opioid. The arrest was part of an undercover operation.

Spencer also serves on the county’s opioid task force.

“It is not about my personal feelings for Doc Spencer, but it is about upholding the integrity of the office of a legislator and the perception the taxpayers have of him and the office,” Trotta said.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Spencer had a handgun on him when he was arrested and had a permit for the gun. He handed it over after his arraignment. Trotta said such an action could have put police in danger.

“Spencer’s illegal behavior could have jeopardized the safety of the officers involved, given the fact he was carrying a handgun,” he said. “Officers have a split second in which to make a decision when they come upon a scene with a gun involved. It could have ended very differently.”

The decision to remove a legislator from a committee is up to presiding officer Rob Calarco (D-Patchogue). Calarco said at this point in time there are two legislators who are facing felony charges. Rudy Sunderman (R-Mastic Beach) is also facing charges after being indicted in July 2019 for alleged perjury, ethics violations and other offenses in connection with his work as the former district manager of the Centereach Fire District that continued after he became legislator in 2018.

The presiding officer said both legislators believe their charges are not appropriate. Just like he hasn’t removed Sunderman from his committees, he said, he will not be removing Spencer.

“I think it’s important for me to treat every legislator equally,” Calarco said. “So, I have not and will not be removing Legislator Spencer from his committee assignments for the remainder of the year.”

He said it was important for both men to have the opportunity to make their cases in court and have the judicial process unfold. However, Calarco said while Spencer remains on the committees, he is no longer chair of the Health committee. He also no longer serves as vice chair of the Ways & Means committee.

The DA has charged Spencer with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony, and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony. He was arraigned Oct. 21 at the John P. Cohalan Jr. Courthouse in Central Islip. Spencer is due back in court on Feb. 26. If convicted of the top count, he could face a maximum of up to nine years in prison.

In addition to his legislative duties, Spencer runs a private practice, Long Island Otolaryngology & Pediatric Airway in Huntington. After his arrests, Huntington Hospital temporarily suspended his privileges pending further investigation.

Spencer is not required to step down as legislator, according to county law. A representative from Spencer’s office did not return requests for statements about his arrest and Trotta’s announcement.

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Florence Blydenburgh holds a proclamation from Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone presented to her and others over 100 at St. Johnland Nursing Center. Photo from St. Johnland Nursing Center

Kings Park is known locally for its large Irish-American population. Many of the hamlet’s residents can trace their ancestry back to those who immigrated from Ireland and settled in Kings Park for jobs at the former psychiatric hospital.

One of those Irish Americans and longtime Kings Park residents is Florence Blydenburgh, 104, who currently resides at St. Johnland Nursing Center on Sunken Meadow Road. Blydenburgh, who goes by the nicknames Flo or Flossie, remembered those early days during a recent phone interview.

Both her parents emigrated from Ireland and took separate paths to Kings Park. Her mother was from Limerick and her father from County Clare. She said her father, John Coughlan, first worked in New York City, and when he heard of job opportunities at the psychiatric hospital in Kings Park, he traveled out to Long Island to see what it was all about. After working as a hospital attendant for a few months, he noticed several women regularly gathered together and wondered what they were doing. They told him they were part of a nursing school and told him how to enroll for the following September. Her father decided to sign up and went on to become a registered nurse and then took the test to be a licensed RN.

“He went up the ladder fast,” she said.

Her mother, Josephine, was brought to the United States by an aunt and uncle who promised her parents that they would treat her like a daughter and send her to school. Once her mother arrived in the city, Blydenburgh said the couple, who owned a bar and grill, made her work as a waitress. She said the Long Island Rail Road used to back their trains in where the bar and grill was, adding that people would stop at the restaurant where a few noticed how her mother was being used by her relatives as labor and told her all about Kings Park.

“She said, ‘I only have one day off, and that’s a Wednesday, I’ll go out and see,’” Blydenburgh said. “They said they would take her out on the train, and it wouldn’t cost her anything, and they’d pick her up on the train back.”

She said when her mother was in Kings Park a doctor hired her, and she was back in the hamlet a week later.

“She packed her clothes and she came out here, and her aunt and uncle never looked for her,” Blydenburgh said, adding her mother found a better life on the Island.

“In those days they gave you room and everything,” Blydenburgh said. “She had her own room. Oh, she loved it.”

After her parents met and married, they had Blydenburgh and her two brothers Francis and Vincent. She said her mother sent her and brother Francis to St. Philip Neri in Northport.

“It was the only Catholic school around, and my mother figured she didn’t know enough about her religion to teach us, so that’s why she sent us there,” Blydenburgh said, adding that there weren’t many public schools to choose from back then.

Blydenburgh, who worked as a secretary, met her first husband, Walter Lynch, who grew up in the city but came out to Kings Park to work. She said that at first his parents didn’t want him to work out on the Island, but he told his parents he just bought a car and needed to keep the job.

She said for about 15 years she and her husband lived in Brooklyn and had one daughter Marilyn. Blydenburgh missed Kings Park at times, she said, when she lived in the borough.

“I liked the nice and quiet, where you knew your neighbors,” she said. “When we moved into Brooklyn, we never got to know our neighbors.”

While she eventually moved back to Kings Park, she said one of the things she noticed changing over the years is that store employees don’t know customers’ names like they used to do in the earlier days.

“They got to know you, too,” she said. “That doesn’t happen anymore. Your face looks familiar to them, that’s it.”

Blydenburgh and Walter were married for 30 years before he passed away. When her husband passed, she said they had been dancing, which they loved to do, and he fell to the ground. She found out he had a blood clot. She was a widow for about 20 years when Joseph Blydenburgh, a widower and a descendant of the family that Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown is named after, asked if she would like to go out for dinner. The two attended the same church in Kings Park.

“No thank you, Joe, but I don’t want to become involved anymore,” she said she remembers telling him.

She lived with her mother and father at the time, Blydenburgh said, because they didn’t want her to live by herself. When she told her mother, her elder gave her some advice.

“My mother said, ‘You fool, why don’t you go?’” she said, pointing out to her that going to dinner wouldn’t necessarily mean that they would be involved.

The two eventually dated and were married for eight years before his passing in 1993.

Florence Blydenburgh said her daughter Marilyn still lives in Kings Park. The centenarian also has a granddaughter and two great-grandchildren who live in Connecticut. She said she’s had a great life and credits the people who have been in it.

“I had great parents, two great husbands, and my kid was a good kid,” she said. “My grandchildren are the same way.”

When it comes to the younger generations, her advice regarding tough times is not to worry too much.

“It would be great if everyone can do that, because we don’t have control,” she said.

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The owner of The Oasis club in Smithtown is in talks with town officials to negotiate a sale of the building. Photo by Donna Deedy

Smithtown landmarks have changed regularly throughout the centuries, but one town staple has basically remained the same for decades. The Town of Smithtown is hoping to do something about that — changing a topless bar to a place where families can enjoy recreational time on the water.

If the Smithtown Town Board’s proposed plans go through, The Oasis Gentlemen’s Club, across from the iconic bull statue, may become part of a town park through condemnation. The issue was discussed at an Oct. 27 special town meeting and public hearing via Zoom. The club sits on two lots of land that are the equivalent of a fifth of an acre. Smithtown hopes to acquire the property to use for a public park that will have waterfront access to the Nissequogue River that sits right behind it, joining up with what is now a county park slightly east of Oasis.

If all goes as planned, Smithtown will make a park swap with Suffolk County. The county will acquire the town’s Bill Richards Park next to Blydenburgh County Park, while Suffolk will hand over Paul T. Given County Park to Smithtown.

During the Oct. 27 special meeting, Peter Hans, Smithtown planning director, said the Oasis property is zoned for neighborhood business. The planning director said the structure predates an assessment done by the town in 1947. That year, it was listed as Cliff’s Tavern Barroom. Hans said the building is not on the historic sites inventory.

During the meeting, the planning director pointed to other county and town parks in the vicinity of the building and said Smithtown is updating its Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. He added that in 1989 the Town Board adopted the program which includes the Oasis parcel for acquisition for conservation.

“It is located in an environmentally sensitive area,” he said. “You have the river directly adjacent. There’s a sanitary system on the property, and if the property were redeveloped, there’s potential to remove or update the sanitary system. So, as it stands right now, we’re just in the concept stage, but there is potential to redevelop the whole waterfront around the whole area for park purposes.”

Thomas Murray, from Pelham Manor who has owned the business and property since 2002, spoke at the meeting. Murray said he paid for an appraisal in December 2017, and the town attorney countered with another around a year later. He said since then “no offer has been forthcoming since I started this process in 2017.” However, he is still open to negotiating with the town to avoid any litigation.

Murray said all taxes and bills have been made timely, the bar hasn’t caused many problems relative to other bars and there is a tenant upstairs who maintains the property.

“Residents of the area have and are employed at the business, depending on the employment for their livelihood,” he said. “I conduct business with other companies in the area, which helps improve the local economy.”

He added, “I would say going back to the Bull Creek, this bar has been a safe rite of passage for many in the area.”

The building has been used for adult entertainment since 1979 and was once named the Bull Creek Inn. Members of the Facebook group “You know you’re from Smithtown, New York if:” also remember the business having names such as Habitat and Rosebuds after Cliff’s Tavern Barroom was no longer in business.

Town of Smithtown spokesperson Nicole Garguilo said discussions about an acquisition began in 2018.

“In May of 2019, the Town commissioned an appraisal and presented our valuation to the property owner and his attorney in or about September 2019,” she said. “In January of 2020, the town received a counter-offer for an amount that simply could not be justified given the town’s appraisal.  Later that month the town commissioned a condemnation appraisal for the property.”
The town has 90 days after the Oct. 27 public hearing to make a decision.

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Rena Sylvester along with dozens of volunteers prepare and deliver meals to Suffolk County veterans. Photo from Rena Sylvester

Helping veterans is something one Stony Brook resident does all year long.

Volunteer Michelle Hahn and her daughters deliver to veterans in their neighborhood. Photo from Michelle Hahn

Rena Sylvester, 55, has been cooking and preparing meals in her home for local veterans since earlier this year, and the volunteer effort has become known as Cooking for Long Island Veterans. Sylvester said she recently filed for CFLIV to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which should be finalized this month.

For Sylvester, building a nonprofit organization that helps vets through providing meals came naturally. She said she’s always had a soft spot for veterans and is proud of those in her family tree, which include a grandfather who was in the Spanish-American War, and a great-great-grandfather who fought for the North in the Civil War. She said she remembers bringing her great-great-grandfather’s photo into school in seventh grade and has a steamer trunk from a great uncle who fought in World War I.

She first started cooking for Marine Corps League Detachment #247 in Bay Shore while she was a home economics teacher in the East Islip school district. After her retirement from teaching a couple of years ago, she said she continued to cook for the group and other veterans organizations.

Earlier in the year, a few vets reached out to Sylvester to see if she knew what happened to a woman who started a GoFundMe page to deliver meals to veterans. Sylvester contacted the woman, who told her she was unable to keep up. That’s when Sylvester rose to the occasion and started cooking in her own kitchen.

What started as cooking for a few vets has turned into delivering meals to more than 50 throughout Suffolk County. Through Sylvester’s previous connections with vets and veterans organizations, many reached out to her during the pandemic and the number of vets receiving meals increased. Currently, CFLIV has a waiting list.

“We are totally experiencing growing pains,” she said.

Rena Sylvester delivers meals to a veteran. Photo from Rena Sylvester

Fortunately, she said the number of volunteers who make up Cooking for Long Island Veterans has grown from a few to around 40, many of whom live in the Three Village area or Islip. Sylvester said it’s not only cooks she needs. Those who have offered to drive have also been a big help. She is now looking for people who can create a website, make copies and do some light housekeeping. Also, with a garage renovation underway to create cooking space, the organization can use help with lighting fixtures, electric hot water heaters, flooring and shelving.

Sylvester said every bit helps. She has a few volunteers who commit to a certain amount of time each month or a set amount of money. She said one volunteer is at her home every Thursday without fail and every month she can count on one local couple to spend $100 on CFLIV. There is also one volunteer who comes from Manhasset once a month to pick up food from Sylvester and then deliver to homes west of Stony Brook.

Some volunteers even get their families involved like Michelle Hahn. She and her two daughters, Anna, 7, and Gabriella, 5, have been delivering food to vets near her Stony Brook home for about a year.

“My girls love the idea of helping those who keep us safe and free,” Hahn said.

The mother said there are several senior veterans in her neighborhood, and when she and her family discovered Sylvester and volunteers were preparing and delivering meals to them, they wanted to get involved.

“We donate time when we can by cooking meals, making deliveries, recruiting volunteers or helping Rena in her busy house,” she said.

Sylvester said one way she increased the number of volunteers was reaching out to Three Village Wine Fairies, a Facebook group where people deliver wine to strangers after hearing about it from Bobby Hebert who owns Hamlet Wines & Liquors in East Setauket. She realized if they were willing to spend money on and deliver wine to strangers, maybe they would be open to helping out veterans. She reached out to the members and was right, gaining a few more volunteers.

Vets receive three each of breakfast, lunch and dinner per visit, according to Sylvester, sometimes more but never less. Each veteran receives the names and contact information of those who cooked the meals and delivered them to give the ex-servicemembers the opportunity to thank them. Sylvester said the ‘thank yous’ are important to let the volunteers know they are appreciated.

Hahn said she appreciated the calls of appreciation.

“I once had a senior vet call me and say, ‘My own family doesn’t help me out the way you all do,’” she said. “[It] melted my heart.”

In addition to volunteers, CFLIV accepts financial donations, gift cards and food donations from restaurants and supermarkets. Sylvester said she’s received help from businesses such as Panico’s Community Market in Smithtown, Rolling Pin in East Setauket, Rocco’s Pizza in St. James and others.

“We aren’t looking for anyone to give us 80 meals a week or anything,” she said. “We’re looking for a little help.”

Rena Sylvester, right, picks up donations from Panico’s Community Market in Smithtown. Photo from Rena Sylvester

On Nov. 10, Bliss restaurant in East Setauket held a fundraiser event for the organization. For every to-go dinner, the restaurant gave CFLIV 25% of the sale.

Christine Reardon said her parents, Frank and Eleanor, who live in Stony Brook have received meals from the volunteers. She called the service “a godsend.”

“It is just amazing to know that an abundance of food arrives weekly at their doorstep,” Reardon said. “Mom and dad, who is a Korean War vet, are both in failing health and to have this for my parents is appreciated beyond words.”

Richard Ehrlich, an 89-year-old Korean War vet who lives in Stony Brook, said he enjoys the meals. When he heard the organization could use more funds, he said he decided to donate what he could once a month.

“It helps me from running around a lot and shopping,” he said.

Sylvester said they are open to helping veterans who may not need financial assistance, but who may have physical limitations or are hesitant to shop during the pandemic. They are asked for a donation of whatever they could afford toward the cause.

“We are here to serve the needy veterans,” she said. “If a veteran is physically needy — but not financially — we need their financial support to keep running. Without financial support we will not be able to keep up with the demand.”

Those who are interested in volunteering for Cooking for Long Island Veterans or donating, can email Sylvester at [email protected].

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Memorials honoring those who fought in recent conflicts were unveiled at the annual Setauket Veterans Day Ceremon on Nov. 11, 2020. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Post Commander of VFW Post 3054 Jay Veronko stands by one of the new memorials. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Photo by Rita J. Egan
Veterans lay wreaths at the memorial during the annual Setauket Veterans Day Ceremony Nov. 11. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Attendees salute during the annual Setauket Veterans Day Ceremony Nov. 11. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Every year on Nov. 11, veterans are remembered at a ceremony at the Setauket Veterans Memorial Park on the corner of Route 25A and Shore Road. This year, two new memorials were unveiled to recognize those who served in the Cold War, Granada/Lebanon and Panama, the Gulf War and the Global War on Terror. The new memorials are the result of the combined efforts of Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), commanders of local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts located in Setauket, Stony Brook and Port Jefferson Station and the Long Island Veterans Home at Stony Brook University.

The War Memorial Fund Committee updated several memorials last year on Setauket’s Village Green, in Stony Brook Village and along the Port Jefferson Harbor.
The project was funded by local businesses and community members.

Jack Gozdziewski, a member of American Legion Post 432 and VFW Post 3054, who initially approached Hahn with the idea to update the monuments, said it was important to honor all soldiers whether they had boots on the ground or served during the Cold War. Gozdziewski pointed out how one side of the Gulf War and Global War on Terror stone is left blank in case of another conflict, and the hope is that it will stay blank.

“Please pray for that and thank all the veterans that have protected us so this wall will never be used again,” he said. 

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Huntington's Veterans Day ceremony was held Nov. 8. Photo by Lina Weingarten
Huntington's Veterans Day ceremony was held Nov. 8. Photo by Lina Weingarten
Makayla Connolly sings at Huntington's Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 8. Photo by Lina Weingarten
Chad Lupinacci speaks at the Huntington Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 8. Photo by Lina Weingarten
Chad Lupinacci speaks at the Huntington Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 8. Photo by Lina Weingarten

The Town of Huntington held its Veterans Day Ceremony Sunday, Nov. 8, in Veterans Plaza at Huntington Town Hall. The event was limited to 50 people due to the pandemic and included Broadway star Makayla Connolly, upper left photo, singing “God Bless America” and the national anthem. Joining elected Huntington officials including town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) were members of the Veterans Advisory Board and U.S. Coast Guard Station Eaton’s Neck, and veterans organizations from the Huntington area. Chief Brian Keane of the Huntington Fire Department, Chief Jon Hoffmann of the Huntington Manor Fire Department and volunteer firefighters displayed the American flag for the ceremony from fire trucks on Main Street.

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Jennilyne Hamm, lower left, and her twin sister Karla have been getting to know their newfound half-siblings through Zoom. Photo from Jennilyne Hamm

This holiday season, many will have more family members to celebrate with thanks to popular DNA tests that not only break down a person’s ethnic background but also connect them to people with similar DNA.

Jennilyne Hamm and her twin sister Karla. Photo from Jennilyne Hamm

The tests that estimate how two people may be related to each other can sometimes provide some surprising results. This was the case for Smithtown resident Jennilyne Hamm, who was inspired to take a test through 23andMe after her daughter Isabella had done so. She said her daughter was curious about her ethnic background, and her results turned up some relatives that they didn’t know about.

One of those relatives, John,  asked questions to see how they were related, Hamm said. They couldn’t figure out the connection, so they chalked it up to them being distant relatives.

Hamm, who just turned 50, said when her husband, Erik, didn’t use a test she bought him, she decided to use it herself. She and her twin sister, Karla, grew up in Whitestone with their parents, sister and four older half-siblings from her mother’s first marriage, and she said the tight-knit family never suspected any other close relations.

On Aug. 4, a month after sending in her test, Hamm said she read her results and was surprised to see she had three half-siblings she didn’t know existed: John, Irene and Elaine. At first, she thought it was a fluke.

She said the younger of her new half-siblings, Irene, was curious and the two of them were texting one day when Hamm was out on the Long Island Sound on her boat. She said she started to realize her mother may have had an affair. Looking at her ethnic background she noticed she was all Italian instead of mixed with Scottish and German heritage as she thought. She gave her twin sister her login information so she could look over the results. It was then when a message from Elaine, one of the newfound half-siblings, wrote back, “We’ve known about our baby twin sisters. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Jennilyne Hamm discovered recently that her biological father, above, was John Joseph Schiavo Sr. and not the man who brought her and her twin sister up. Photo from Jennilyne Hamm

“It’s turned out to be such a wonderful experience,” Hamm said. “Nothing that we ever asked for or looked for or even knew about.”

While Hamm’s parents and older relatives are deceased, the new family members have been able to piece together part of the story. Elaine said she and John found out from two uncles after their father passed away that there were a set of from an extramarital affair. Hamm said she discovered that while the father who raised her, Ed, and her mother wanted to have their own children, they had trouble conceiving. Her mother and biological father, John, had an affair, even though no one knows how they met. When her mother got pregnant, she told John she wanted to raise her child with her husband. Hamm said at the time her mother didn’t know she was pregnant with twins.

“John gracefully bowed out and accepted that, and then later found out through the grapevine that it was twins, and he respected my mother’s wishes,” Hamm said. “Of course, that little girl inside of you still wished that she knew.”

Hamm and her twin sister now know that their biological father was married to a woman named Alice, and they had John and Elaine. After the affair with her mother, Hamm said father John then married a woman named Shelley and had Irene.

A 23andMe representative said the company is hearing of more stories like Hamm’s.

“With genetic testing readily available to consumers, we are increasingly hearing stories of families discovering and reuniting with newfound relatives, and of customers finding unexpected results in their reports,” the spokesperson said.

Jennilyne Hamm, right, was inspired to take a DNA test after her daughter Isabella did and found relatives they did not know about. Photo from Jennilyne Hamm

According to the company, the kits are not designed “to help people confirm parentage or find biological parents.” However, the DNA relatives tool, which is optional for customers, provides an opportunity for users to find and connect with participating genetic relatives. The company also lists a disclaimer that the tool may lead to finding unexpected relatives.

Hamm said the siblings meet on Zoom and talk and text regularly. With Elaine in Texas, John in Florida and Irene in Colorado, the pandemic has made it impossible for Hamm and her sister to meet them in person. However, the hope is that in the future the twins can travel to Florida where Irene’s mother Shelley lives near John, and they all can meet there.

Hamm said she loves sharing the story with everybody.

“It’s funny how God works or the world or whatever you believe in,” she said. “That emptiness I used to feel is finally gone.”

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The cover jacket of Steven Drielak's latest book
Long Meadow farmhouse shortly after the kidnapping. Three Brookhaven Town policeman can be seen standing on the property. Photo courtesy of the Three Village Historical Society
William Parsons and Alice Parson's Frank McDonell conducting a news conference at farm. Photo courtesy of Three Village Historical Society
115 volunteers leaving the Stony Brook Boys's School auditorium to being the search for Alice Parsons. Photo courtesy of the Three Village Historical Society
This New York Daily News front page on June 11, 1937 was similar to others in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Photo courtesy of Newspapers.com
Forensic expert delves into disappearance of Stony Brook heiress

Reviewed by Rita J. Egan

The only thing more intriguing than a mystery is a true story that happened practically in the reader’s back yard. That’s the case with author Steven C. Drielak’s book Long Island’s Vanished Heiress: The Unsolved Alice Parsons Kidnapping recently released by Arcadia Publishing and The History Press.

Drielak tells the tale of the real-life kidnapping case of 38-year-old Alice McDonell Parsons, the heir to a vast fortune, who disappeared from Long Meadow Farm in Stony Brook on  June 9, 1937. The accounts of three witnesses — her husband, the housekeeper and the housekeeper’s son — were reported in newspapers across the United States. It was a case where the Federal Bureau of Investigation stepped in to help solve, but despite countless interviews, crews combing and revisiting beaches along the north and south shores of Long Island, and the careful excavation of the farm, a body was never discovered.

For Long Islanders, the story will have added appeal with the familiar backdrop of Stony Brook and other local areas mentioned such as Huntington, Bay Shore, Glen Cove and more. While many may be familiar with the case of Alice Parsons, who reportedly was last seen getting into a large black sedan with a couple to show them a family estate in Huntington, there is so much more to learn as Drielak takes the reader on a trip into the past using articles from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The New York Daily News, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune as well as FBI case files.

Right from the beginning, the author shows immense attention to detail as he takes us step by step through the infamous day starting at  6:30 a.m. as Alice Parsons’ husband, William, starts the morning feeding the livestock. He also describes what the Parsons’ Russian housekeeper Anna Kupryanova was doing that morning as well as Anna’s 10-year-old son Roy. We also get to meet Alice before her disappearance.

Early chapters give some background on the main players in this unsolved case. The reader learns of Alice’s privileged past, how William Parsons became involved in agriculture and events that led to Anna’s arrival to the United States. Delving into everyone’s pasts and characters, as well as how they interacted, helps the reader in understanding the possible motives of all the suspects in this case.

What many will find interesting is a case such as this one in the 1930s relied more on interviews and interrogations than forensic science as it wasn’t as developed as it is today. As the story unfolds, so do the clues, confessions and lies.

Making the story even more compelling is a disappearing chloroform bottle, paper found in the house that matches the kidnapper’s ransom note, a near confession and, to add even more to the intrigue, an affair that cannot be ignored.

What will leave the reader even more suspicious of Alice’s husband and housekeeper is the marriage of William and Anna in 1940 before the heiress is declared legally dead. The new couple never waited for a body to be found before starting a life together in California as husband and wife. Their relationship definitely raised eyebrows, especially since Anna was the last to see Alice alive.

There are also transcripts of recorded interviews between William and Anna that were part of the investigation. The conversations are interesting in that it seems as if Anna was dominant in the relationship, telling William he didn’t know what he was talking about when it came to a chloroform bottle being found. She also mentions that Alice is still alive. The conversations are an example of how difficult it was to solve how the heiress disappeared or if she was kidnapped or murdered.

Last but not least, the photos used in the book, many from the author’s personal collection and the Three Village Historical Society, are interesting to see. Local history buffs especially will enjoy them as some of the photos depict Stony Brook in the 1930s with William addressing reporters outside of his home, and volunteers ready to search the area standing outside The Stony Brook School. The photos drive home that this unsolved mystery happened right here in our own back yard.

Author Steven C. Drielak is an internationally recognized expert in the area of Hot Zone Forensic Attribution. He received his master’s degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justic and has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience. He has authored six textbooks in the areas of environmental crimes, weapons of mass destruction and forensic attribution, as well as two historical fiction novels. Long Island’s Vanished Heiress is available at ArcadiaPublishing.com, Book Revue in Huntington, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

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